The Epic of the Dragonborn: Dantea Blackwolf
by Terminal lance
Summary: Dantea Blackwolf, she would have lived a happy life but fate had different plans. Given the power of the dovah by the gods and the power of ancient elves by the blundering curiosity of witches. She cant remember anything past her seventh year of age from a head injury she returns to skyrim to discover her origins but when fate strikes she must face her past and embrace her destiny
1. Chapter 1

**Enjoy the second chapter and the beginning of skyrim **

The cart bounced along the old road, the horses grunted under the weight of the loaded wagon as they pulled their load at the command of their legionary masters. In the back of the cart sat four people, a tall, muscular nord dressed in chainmail that was draped in a blue tunic, his hands and feet covered in fur garments. His blonde hair hid his face as the cart cracked along the road at the front of the column. Another was dressed in ragged clothes, a bruise adorned his face and his dark hair was all askew as he looked around wildly, across from him sat a man that was easily recognized as a proud nord, he sat straight and erect in his seat. A sense of pride and strength radiated from him like his own body heat, his brown hair shifted in the wind as he glared at the legion solider that was driving the carriage full of prisoners destined for the headsman axe. He would have spoken but his mouth was covered and hands were bound. Next to this man was a young woman, she wore simple clothes. A vest of leather and cloth, her legs were covered in leggings and skirt wrapped around her waist, the sides and back went to her knees while the front stopped at the mid of her thighs. The man across from her glanced her over, studying his other companion in the cart. Bright tattoos adorned her arms and legs, she had bright red hair that was in an unkempt ponytail, a scar ran over her nose horizontal and ended on either side of her eyes just below them, her eyes were closed and she was clearly sleeping. Her head rolled to one side and her pointed ear was visible from under her red hair. She was wrapped in a travelers cloak, the poor girl had just been walking along the road when she had wondered into the ambushed legion, and the result was she had been mistaken as a storm cloak and overzealous captain had tossed her in the cart. The wagon hit a large rock and bounced the cart; a loud thud was resonated in the gloomy silence as the girls head smacked against the side of the carts walls waking her. Her blue eyes snapped open and she glared at the driver. She looked around her surroundings; she scowled as she looked at her traveling companions.

"Hey, you" she heard the blonde man say and she looked at him "your finally awake, you were trying to cross the border right, walked right into the imperial ambush. Same as us and that thief over there" she glanced at the man in ragged clothes; he glared at the blonde man.

"Damn you storm cloaks, skyrim was fine till you came along" he spat "empire was nice and lazy could have stolen that horse and been halfway to hammer fell by now" he looked at her "me and you shouldn't be here it's these storm cloaks the empire wants"

"I was just traveling, you're still a horse thief" she scoffed angrily.

"It doesn't matter, we are all brothers and sisters in chains now" the man said "where were you headed little elf?" he asked looking at the red haired elven girl with a kind smile. She held up her finger and pointed at him aggressively "first off, I'm half elf, second it's none of your business where I was going" she said leaning back in her seat "not that it matters now"

"Shut up back there" the driver snapped at the captives. the lone woman looked at him with narrowed eyes "how about you get back here and make me milk drinker" the man just growled some curse under his breath, he couldn't stop the carven just to smack a prisoner so he bite the insult and kept going "thought so, dog" she said before leaning back and closing her eyes. She heard the two men talking but gave little care to as she tried to go back to sleep, she had known plans of dying today but she need to think and pretending to sleep gave her the time she need to think.

"Hey what village are you from horse thief?"

"Why do you care?" the other man snapped at the storm cloak.

"Nords last thoughts should be of home" the rebel said comfortingly to the other man. The girl sighed realizing the question that was coming.

"Rorikstead, I'm form rorikstead" he said quietly and depressed. The storm cloak opened his mouth to speak but the girl cut him off.

"don't ask me" she said "because I don't know" angrily, her temper had been hot ever since she was captured but she was trying to keep calm to think it through and what she could do. She heard one of the legion troops shout out.

"General Tulles sir, the headsmen is waiting!" the man yelled as the carts rumbled through the gates of a town. The girl sat up knowing that she would either talk her way out of this or die today but she had no plans to die. She leaned forward on her elbows and looked at the storm cloak as the thief spike the names of the divines, she cast him aside ways glance "you forgot Talos maggot" she grunted. Her words caused the storm cloak to smile before he spoke up.

"Look at him general Tullis, the military governor" he spat angrily "and it looks like the thalmor are with him damn elves, bet they had something to do with this" the blonde nord looked around "this is Helghan, I used to be sweet on a girl from here I wonder if Villa still makes that mead with juniper berries mixed in" this made the red head roll her eyes as she looked around "funny when I was a boy, imperial walls and towers made me feel safe" the girl looked behind her as a kid spoke but she couldn't really make out what he said as they bumped along in the cart. The wagon rolled up next to one as they parked, the thief's frightened voice was heard "why are we stopping?"

"Why do you think, end of the line" the storm cloak said as the stopped "let's go, shouldn't keep the gods waiting for us" he said as they stood up and walked out the back of the cart. The girl saw the captain and strapped across her back rested a fine blade, its cross guard glinted as it caught the sun and the black leather wrapped handle glistened in the morning light. She glared at the captain with a glare that caught the stormcloaks attention "I hate them to" he growled as they waited. She looked up at him, she was four inches shorter than the man so she had to look up to look him in the eye "bitch has my blade" she said flatly and went back to trying to make the captain burst into flame with her glare alone.

"When your name is called step towards the block" the captain barked to the captives. The elven girl clinched her fists and mumbled under her breath "if only my hands were free" the stormcloak glanced down to see her hands were completely bound to prevent her from using magic. "Empire loves their damn lists" he said as Ulfric name was called.

"It has been an honor jarl Ulfric" the storm cloak said as the scribe spoke again.

"Ralof of Riverwood" the storm cloak stepped forward and towards the block, the girl watched him go her expression blank. The legion man called the thief, he ran off saying something about freedom but a hail of arrows turned him into a human pin cushion and he fell to the dirt bleeding out in the streets, his dark red blood flowed through the cracks in the stones in a river of red. The scribe looked at the girl and checked his list before snapping his eyes back to her.

"Wait you there step forward" he said waving her to him. She pushed her cloak to her back and stepped forward, on her left arm was the mark of the legion tattooed in black ink. She stepped in front of the man and he glanced his list over one more time.

"Dantea" she said smiling to him "on my way back to home, got caught up in that mess and got mistaken for one of the rebels, I tried to explain but to no avail"

The man glanced at her arm and saw the mark of the legion "you on leave?" he asked as he put the pin down.

"No, just got out and headed home" she said hoping the ruse would work till the captain got a good look at her.

"Dantea, I remember hearing about you" she said chuckling "Ulfric, some storm cloaks and a deserter" she said placing her hands on her hips. Dantea just growled at the captain as she spoke "oh Hadvar you didn't hear about her, she killed her legate alongside her khajiit lover and they ran" she crossed her arms "to the block with you, and make sure the head goes on a pike"

Dantea didn't move, she glared the captain down her eyes full of hate "I said move" the captain said as she pushed Dantea towards the block. The half elf shrugged her hand off and glared at the captain before she walked towards the gathered group of condemned souls. She stood alone from the group and watched as Tullis walked up to Ulfric, the nord towered over the man and it would have made Dantea laugh if she wasn't facing the axe as well.

"Ulfric storm cloak" the general spoke evenly but his rage was just barely discernible in his voice "some in Helghan call you a hero, but a hero doesn't use a power like the voice to murder his king and usper his throne" Ulfric growled a response "you started this war, plunged skyrim in to chaos and now the empire is going to put you down and restore the peace" Tullis proclaimed to the rebel leader. From the sky came an echoing roar, Dantea didn't like the sound of it and neither did anyone else. One of the troopers spoke up and voiced the question on everyone's mind "what was that? "The general looked at the man

"It's nothing now carry on" he said walking back to his horse and standing by to watch his foe die and face the empires justice.

"yes general Tulles" the captain said looking at the priest "give them their last rights" the priest began but one of the rebels stepped forward before she finished "for the love of Talos shut up and let's get this over with" he said as he went to the block and took a knee he looked up at the captain as the headsman hoisted his axe. "As you wish" the imperial said as she looked at the headsman and placed a foot on his back to keep him on the block "my ancestors are smiling at me imperial can you say the same?" he asked insultingly as the axe dropped. The sound of tearing flesh and crunching bone could be heard in a sinking squelch as the man's head rolled from his shoulders and into an awaiting basket. The gathered crowd of civilians spat their praises and curses at the imperials and storm cloaks alike as the body of the late nord man was moved from the block and a fresh basket took the old ones place. Dantea grimaced realizing that the basket was meant for her head, her mind raced as she tried to figure out how to escape. "next the traitorous half-blood" the captain said and a legion man pushed her towards the block and she stumbled before rising her head high, she could almost hear her adopted pa tell her face death with pride and dignity it's the only way you can rest in peace. As walked foreword the roar was heard again and she stopped looking up at the sky.

"There it is again, did you hear that?" the scribe spoke looking at his captain.

"I said next prisoner" the captain said crossing her arms, Dantea looked at the scribe

"to the block girl, nice and easy" the nord man said Dantea barked her reply "go burn in oblivion" she said getting a chuckle from Ralof as she stepped up to the captain looking her in the eyes "if my hands weren't bound I would turn you inside out" Dantea said defiantly before she took her place at the block and leaned forward, her necklace swung foreword, two amulets adorned the chain one a moon amulet and the other the one she had been found with. The howling wolf with its black stone eyes seemed to glare up at the headsman as she placed her neck on the block. She rolled her head and looked up at the executioner but then she saw it, a large black shape came out from behind the mountain that was visible over his shoulder. Her eyes grew wide as it headed towards them. She heard the general exclaim something and orders fly as the beast, the black dragon landed on the tower and roared its greeting to the world. The headsman went flying and Dantea rolled out of the way, she got to one knee and looked up at the great winged beast as it let loose a roaring cry before the sky itself seemed to shake and the earth rumbled beneath her feet. She heard her name over the sound of the chaos and she looked back to see the storm cloak Ralof waving her into the tower. She wasted no time and took off running she didn't glance back as the great dragon spat a huge current of fire at the ground. She drove through the open door just in time as two men pushed it shut she stood up to her feet shaking as she looked around eyes wild. She saw Ralof he had just cut his bonds and looked at Ulfric who was ripping the gag from his mouth.

"Jarl Ulfric what is that thing? Could the legends be true?!" Ralof exclaimed

"Legends don't burn down villages" Ulfric said in his deep nord voice before the dragons roar was heard again "we need to move now!" he yelled and Dantea took his word for it, she sprinted up the stairs but a loud thud and the shaking of the tower stopped her she stumbled a bit and looked up the stairs. The wall exploded and fire filled the second landing as the two men inside were roasted alive as the dragons massive jaws opened wide and the inferno of death and flame spewed forth. Dantea pinned herself to the wall as the massive head of the dragon snaked back out the hole and she heard the beasts wings take it into the sky again. She wasted no time and ran for the hole; she saw a building with a burning thatched roof below.

"Great" she said as she gathered her strength and jumped, she seemed to soar through the air for minutes but it was truly just few seconds before she crashed through the roof of the once safe home and into the upper floor of the burning building. She saw a small dagger sitting in an end table and she ran over to it. She started to rub the bindings against the dull blade.

"Come on, come on" she said but the sound of tearing wood made her look up as the dragons massive talons dug into the roof. She heard the wood creek; the supports couldn't take the weight of the massive monster. She took off in a mad dash and jumped out a wind her hands still bound; she hit the ground and rolled as the building she was just in collapsed. The dragon lighted on the ground just in front of her blocking the ally way, she saw the scribe grab a boy and pull him back just in time as she dove for the rock in front of her as the very fires of oblivion seemed to engulf the world around her. The rock gave her just enough protection and she escaped alive from the inferno. She stood up and looked around the dragon had taken off and she ran for the ally way, her feet carrying her faster than she thought that they ever could as she pelted her way through the burning remains of houses and into a large courtyard. She saw the scribe come up behind her "come with me" he said as he ran by but a fist in the face stopped him. Ralof stood over him before running by the down man yelling at Dantea "come on into the keep" she looked at the scribe as he stood up. "The rebels didn't try to take my head!" she yelled over the chaos and ran after Ralof into the keep. She ran through the door and the large nord man shut the heavy door behind them. She breathed a sigh of relief and squatted down for a second before standing again, Ralof placed a hand on her shoulder and she jumped from him "come on let's get those bindings off" he said holding out a dagger.

"Thanks" Dantea said holding her hands out, Ralof took the knife and sliced through the strips of leather and rope and they fell on the ground in a mess. The half elf rubbed her wrists and looked around, the keep was new so its walls were strong, she glanced the gate over and saw the lock on it engaged "damn, gates looked to the rest of this place" she said looking at Ralof "should we just wait it out?"

"Not sure, suppose we could but I doubt the legion will leave us be" he said picking up an axe that was lying next to a dead storm cloak on the ground. He tossed it to Dantea and she grabbed it out of the air, and raised an eyebrow at him "Ganger won't be needing it anymore" he said as he looked at his dead friend with sadness. Dantea heard the sounds of voices coming down the hallway towards them, Ralof looked at her and she nodded. They got on either side of the door as the clanking of imperial armor and the voice of a particular captain drew near to the gate "dragon or not I want the damned rebels found and killed" she stopped at the gate "get the gate open" the gate opened and two imperials stepped in, Ralof yelled out a battle cry and fell upon the first man. The legionary brought his shield up just in time, the second jumped back and deeper into the room as Dantea axe swing just missed his gut. He swung at the with his sword but she leaned to one side and before the man could move she channeled all her magic into her leg, her tattoos glowed as her foot connected with the man's gut and he went flying into the wall. Dantea heard the sound of steel behind her and brought the axe up to meet her own sword, her blade in the hands of the captain. The captain bore down on her with all her strength, Dantea kept her feet planted and pushed against the captain, as the captain pushed back Dantea spun out from under the blade and the imperial woman staggered foreword. Dantea kicked her in the butt, she didn't have time to use her magic and the woman just rolled forward instead, the man on the far side of the room had gotten to his feet. Ralof swung again at his opponent with all his might, the legion trooper brought his blade up but Ralof's rage and strength broke the man's guard and the axe buried itself in the man's skull. Meanwhile Dantea rolled out from the captain's overhead strike, the other legion soldier charged her. She heard him and as she exited the roll the axe soared from her hand. The massive blade hit the ma square in the chest and he fell to the ground, she whipped around rushed the captain, no blade in her hands. The captain set her rear leg and readied her shield to take the charge. Dantea leapt up and brought her foot down in what was to the captain a kick. The imperial raised the shield and Dantea jumped off it like a spring board turning and using telekinesis to grab the dead legionaries sword and pulled it through the air like an arrow. The blade smashed through the captain's rib cage as Dantea hit the ground hard. The captain fell to her knees, the imperial blade stuck out her chest she dropped the sword in her hand and Dantea stood up grunting a bit. Ralof was stunned at what he had just seen, he watched as the girl walked over to the imperial solider and place a hand on the captain's head. The half elf's hand flash a fire and the imperials head exploded as Dantea cast a fire ball spell at point blank range causing the soldiers head to explode.

"That was" Ralof stammered as he looked at the red haired woman flex her hand "that was insane!" he said sheathing his axe. Dantea picked up the sword of the ground, its long blade shimmered in the light, and he could see an inscription on the blade. It's seemed to fit Dantea perfectly, she grabbed the sheath from the dead imperial and slung it around her back and looked at the nord "yeah, it was just a bit" she said yanking a key from the captains waist and tossed it to Ralof "let's get out of here" she said.

"Agreed, I'm Ralof by the way" Ralof said as he opened the gate. The girl walked passed him and into the hallway "Dantea" she said as she waved him foreword and took off running down the hallway. The stopped at the bottom of the stairs, two imperials turned to face them. Dantea readied a spell in her off hand to pull one of the legionary's forewords but the sound of rumbling and cracking stone drew everyone's attention upward the legion troops dashed foreword but quickly sheathed her blade and sent her spells at the men. The impact of the energy sent them back a few feet right under the stones of the ceiling as it collapsed onto them, Dantea redrew her blade. Ralof looked around and saw a door, he read the label quickly "it's a storage room, we could find supplies in here" he said. Dantea dropped into a combat stance and gave Ralof a quick nod. The nord understood and kicked the door open, Dantea charged in. inside was a legion sergeant and another trooper who turned in a hurry to face them, the sergeant moved first "for the empire!" he yelled as he slashed at Dantea. She expertly parried the strike and the two began to exchange a flurry of blows. Dantea couldn't help it when the smile graced her face; she loved sword play and took delight in it. Her blows were fast and accurate, the legion sergeant was having to make use of his shield more and more as the lighting quick blows came from Dantea in a whirlwind of steel. The legion leader quickly raised his shield and bashed it foreword hoping to stagger the half elf back. Dantea hit the shield and rolled around it before the sergeant could act again and brought her blade under his left leg, his supporting leg and ripped up. The man spun and landed on his back, the inside of his leg was sliced neatly open from the blow, Dantea whipped fully around and drove with all her strength, her sword struck solid and true. The blade drove through the man right through his throat; she quickly pulled the blade back and dragged the flat of the blade along her skirt. She sheathed it and looked at Ralof. The other imperial was currently under his foot as the nord wrenched his axe free from the man's skull with a crunch.

"Look for what you can" Dantea said as she grabbed a bag and started to fill it with food and potions. Ralof followed suit he glanced at his companion, he took her in for the first time. He could tell she was fit and athletic, from what he could see her body was lean and muscular while not taking from her femanity, her hair has a bright blood red. He had known many nords with that hair color but she had the ears of an elf. Her skin was a tanned white, the tone that usually many nords got from spending time in the south, her eyes were a bright blue. The thing that captivated him the most was the tattoos on her right leg, back and the little he could see on her chest up by her collarbone.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" he asked tying his bag shut. She looked at him rising a red eyebrow "I learned from my father, and some from the legion" she said as she tossed the bag on her back "as for the magic I taught myself, I was always good with magic" Dantea went to the door and slowly opened it looking around "come on the coast is clear" she said stepping out into the hallway. The sounds of screaming could be heard from below, Dantea slunk low and drew her blade silently as the room below came into view, two storm cloaks were busy fighting against a torture and who Dantea could only guess was his assistant. She brought a spell to life in her left hand and shoots her arm out at the assistant and yanked back. Ralof watched as the man was torn from his feet and flew backwards, Dantea swung her sword and the man's head separated from his body. The other imperial glanced away from his lighting spell for a second and the nord woman dropped her sword under her arm and lunged, she hoisted the blade up and dropped under it and lifted the mage. He slide down the rest of the blade yelling in pain as he did, the storm cloak lowered the great sword and pulled the blade free from the corpse. The other storm cloak placed a hand on her shoulder as Ralof came around the corner, he smiled at them.

"Van, Camille" he said holding out his arm "good to see you" Van, the male clasped it "Ralof, glad to see a friendly face" he smiled "who's your friend?"

"Her names Dantea, not one of us but damn good with her blade" Ralof said as the half elf walked over to one of the cages with a mage sitting in it. He looked up at her, he was injured and holding his gut.

"Ralof, get the cage key from the tourter" Dantea said "anyone got water?" she said. Camille came over and handed her a water skin, Dantea passed it through the bars to the mage inside the prison cage. He took it and sipped it quickly.

"You got a name?" she asked him as he whipped his mouth.

"I'm Onmund, I was headed to the collage but the empire snatched me thinking I was a spy" he said grunting as he sat up. Ralof opened the door and held out his hand "come on kinsman, let's get you out of here" he said helping the nord mage up. Onmund leaned against him and Ralof helped him hobble along and the group headed deeper into the keep, Dantea took point in a v shaped formation with Ralof and Onmund in the middle, van on the right and Camille on the left. They came to the end of the hall and into the keeps lowest point inside was what remained of the legion garrison. A man stood away from the group he was watching the others. Dantea didn't hesitate and plunged her sword through the man's chest. He dropped as the blade slide out his back, Dantea rushed in. she sprinted over a bridge and slide one her leg low and drove her blade up at an imperial archer. He knocked the blow aside with his blade, Dantea rolled to her feet and quickly slashed at the man. He dodged to his left but Camille had joined Dantea across the bridge. Van had grabbed a bow and was exchange arrows with the archers across the room. One dropped as an arrow spurted from his neck. Camille swung her great sword and the blade went through the archer's torso. Dantea looked at the remaining imperials on the other platform on the far side of the room. She sent a fireball at the puddle of oil one was standing in, he burst into flames and his three remaining comrades faced the two sword wielding women. They aimed their bows, Dantea's eyes got big and she grabbed Camille and drug them to the ground as the archers loosed their arrows and they soared over head just in time. Dantea was on her feet fast and sprinted at the nearest man she faked a swing, he raised his bow to block the strike but it never came instead Dantea's blade buried itself to the hilt in his gut. She whipped the man around using the sword blade as a lever to move him. The archers loosed as Dantea moved the man's body on her sword just in time. The arrows stuck in the dying man's back and he yelled in pain as blood poured from his mouth. Dantea summoned her magic and kicked the man off the swords blade; the magic energy infused kick sent the body flying into one of his friends. Camille rushed past Dantea and brought her great sword down on the others man arms as he drew an arrow back. The bow, and his arms fell to the ground, the arrow soared foreword the shoot thrown wide. Dantea looked as the man raised his stumps his pain filled cries were cut short when the blade of a great sword passed through his neck. The last remaining imperial stepped up but an arrow from Van caught him in the temple and he dropped like a sack of rocks.

"Ralof, bring Onmund!" Dantea yelled and pulled the lever at the far side of the room and the draw bridge dropped letting them advance further into the compound. "Let's get out of here!" she yelled to the others and they took off running into the caves. The four ran as fast as they could, Onmund yelped in pain as Ralof jumped down a small ledge. Dantea leaded them through the caves, the others had trouble keeping up but managed, Ralof could have sworn they passed a bear that raised its head as they ran by. They clambered up an incline and out the small gap of a cave and into the wilds of skyrim.

**Please be kind and review. Till next chapter**


	2. Chapter 2

Dantea ran from the cave opening her sword still out as she looked around the entrance to the cavern, her eyes scanned every place a person could hide. She heard the sound of rocks and looked back to see Ralof struggling up the slope of the cave, Onmund still across his shoulders and holding his gut. The large blonde nord walked up next to the half elf and breathed in deep.

"Ah, the sweet cool air of skyrim" he said smiling as he closed his eyes and took another deep breath "it's a beautiful land"

Dantea looked around, she could see the large mountains rising in the horizon, a shimmering blue river and the lush green forests of skyrim stretched out in front of her, she cracked a smile "it is indeed Ralof" suddenly a loud roar filled the air, and the sound of large wings buffeted the groups ears. Dantea quickly ran off the road, and pinned herself up against a rock. She glanced over at Ralof who was in a thick grove of pines, Onmund lay on the ground he was still, eyes open wide watching the sky. The other two had stayed in the cave, slunk behind some out cropping's of rock. Dantea looked towards the sky and watched intently as another roar broke the stiff silence, and then she saw it a large black shape heading away from them. The dragon soared through the air with all the ease of a bird, its large wings and black scales stood out against the bright blue skyrim sky as the beast flew off and away from the burning ruin it had left in its wake. Dantea watched as the black shadow grew to a small dot and then disappeared from view; she slowly got up and stepped out on to the road. Her right hand rested on her sword hilt with her other was ready by her side with a spell of fire. She looked around again before lowering her hands back to her side and breathed a sigh of relief. The red haired elf looked back at the group and waved them over to her, Ralof grabbed the injured mage and helped him to his feet. Onmund grimaced as he hopped over, his arm around Ralof's shoulder for support, Von and camellia came jogging up to the half elf.

"Well, talk about a close call" Onmund said grunting a bit "thought we were all lizard food"

The others looked at him for a second before the chuckled at his joke; it was much needed and lightened the mood again. Dantea was smiling, she had made it, escaped death again and that thought made her laugh even louder till she was bent over at the waist trying to catch her breath. Ralof looked at her like the half blood was crazy which from what he had seen was not far from the truth at all, the girls laughter stopped and Onmund raised and eyebrow before asking Ralof.

"am I really that funny kinsmen?" he asked smiling to which Ralof chucked before speaking up "we need to find a place to rest for a bit, and see about getting Onmund here some fixed up so at least hobble under his own power"

"Agreed, plus we need to get our barring figure out where we are exactly" Camille said looking at their surroundings "plus it will get dark here soon and traveling at night with dragons flying about, to oblivion with that"

"all valid points but the fact remains we need to put some distance from us and this cave" Von said as he pointed over his shoulder "remember that there was quite a few legionaries that want us all dead that direction plus am sure I saw a bear on our mad dash to get out of there"

"We could use the cave, ambush some legion as they come out" Camille said smiling with hatred as she thought about the idea of plunging her sword into the gut of a legion solider. Dantea had stopped laughing and was looking at the immediate area, the ground slopped down towards the river and there were some dirt game paths that lead down toward what she guessed was the road.

"look" she said facing the group "we can't stay and try to get more legionaries, first I'm not one of you so I could care less and second if more than a few come out of the cave then we are screwed. We got four that can fight and all of us are tired, Vons right we need to put distance between us and the cave" she crouched down and grabbed a stick, she started to make a rough model of what she had seen ahead of them "now we got a river, that means food and water" she said pointing to its "it's not far, maybe half a league from here" she stood up and whip the model away "we got a few hours of day light so let's get moving"

"Who made your boss?" Camille asked angrily crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes at the half elf.

"I did, I'm the only one with a plan to keep us alive" she said turning from them and started down the hill "now are you coming or not?"

Ralof adjusted Onmund's arm around his shoulder and started after the girl in front of them, Von looked at Camille "come on Camille, let's get moving" he said placing a hand on her shoulder "we are no good to Ulfric lying dead in the wilds" the large nord woman sighed before she nodded and sheathed her great sword on her back "let's go" she said and stepped off following the group in front of her.

Dantea walked just ahead of the group, her eyes were going back and forth watching everywhere for threats, her years on the road guarding a caravan and her time in the legion had trained her well to traveling in the wild and dangerous places in the world. They had already gone more than half the distance to the river, she looked back and could see Ralof grunting a bit struggling as he helped Onmund along. _Got to admire a strong man, _she thought to herself _Ralof's helped him the whole way and Onmund is still hanging in there dispute being in bad shape_. Von and Camille were in the rear, Dantea could tell they were well trained as they would check back every now and then studying the area for a bit before looking front again. They were getting out of the trees and stepping around some bushes now. Dantea could see the old cobblestone road in front of them; the mossy gray stones were a welcome sight. She could hear the sound of running water as they came to the road, it stretched out to her right following the hill a ways before snapping back. she looked around quickly scanning their immediate area before she waved the others onto the road, Ralof and Onmund hobbled out of the trees followed by Von and Camille the last two had their weapons ready just in case.

"I can hear it" Onmund said gasping a bit. Ralof looked around the road and saw a few familiar land marks "I think I have an idea as to where we are" he said smiling "we are near Riverwood; you see those stone arches on that mountain over there on the horizon? That's bleak falls barrow, as long as we keep that on our left we will reach the town" Dantea smiled at the good news and nodded to the others, the group stepped off again headed down hill keeping their guiding land mark on their left as they did. Once they got to the switch back they could see the river below them at the bottom of the hill, Dantea looked back.

"Hey, we found it!" she yelled happily "come one we are almost there" the half elf fell back and got next to the injured mage, she grabbed his other arm and tossed it over her shoulder "Ralof I'll take him the last bit, give yourself a rest" she said giving him a small smile.

"thank you Dantea" he said as he dropped the mages arm and stood up all the way, he heard and felt his back pop a few times as he straightened his spin out and rolled his shoulders "I'll take point" he said as he walked out in front "since I know the area" Ralof lead the four down the road and by now things looked very familiar to him. They had reached the lower road and the river was on their left, but he knew from growing up in the valley that the town was still farther away and that they would need to stop for the night, he didn't like the idea of traveling in the dark with dragons prowling the sky. He found a small cliff that had a large over hang and went far back into the earth making a cove, it wasn't very tall. Maybe five feet from the ground to the top but for the five of them it would do, he waved the others over. They came over and looked at the cove, Dantea smiled and helped Onmund into the cove, the mage lay down and leaned against the earth behind him and breathed a sigh of relief "are we stopping here?" he asked as he rolled his head to look at the red haired girl.

"yes, we can stop here for the night" she said and looked at the others of the group "we need to split the tasks up, first off who here has any sort of experience with medicine work?" Von rose his hand "alright von, check to see what me and Ralof managed to nab from the imperials, see if you can get Onmund ready to move in the morning"

"me and Camille can hunt and gather firewood" Ralof said as he unslung the bow of his back "I know these woods" Dantea nodded to the large nord man before dumping her small bag out, she held it out to Camille "it will make carrying wood easier and leave your hands free to fight if you have to" the nord woman snatched the bag from the half elf and huffed before she walked away, Ralof looked at her shaking his head. Dantea had climbed out from the cove as Von had started to work on the injured mage "and what will you do then?" the nord man asked her.

"the river is bound to have fish, red meat is good and fish is to" she said as she looked at him with her bright blue eyes "if you don't bring anything back we could at least have fish" the half elf said to the nord with a smirk.

"True enough" he said "look I'm sorry about Camille. She can be prickle but she is a good woman"

"don't worry about it, I'm used to it all by now" she said "but thanks Ralof" she started for the water but stopped when the nord called her "Dantea" she turned around and looked at the blonde man "be careful, alright" she gave him a genuine smile "same to you sunshine"

Ralof chuckled and walked over to his fellow nord, she was glaring at him arms crossed.

"What?" he asked looking at her incredulously. She just rolled her eyes and slung the bag over her shoulder "just come on, let's get some meat and some wood" Ralof just shook his head and started in to the woods. They walked in silence before Ralof held up his hand and motioned for them to get down; just in front of them was a deer. It hadn't heard them and they were downwind of it so it hadn't been able to smell them either. Ralof grabbed one of his few arrows and notched it on the bowstring; he took a breath before moving the bow up and taking aim as he drew the arrow back. The deer was still unaware it was in danger until the bowstring snapped with a sharp twang, the animal peeked its head up just in time to catch an arrow in the chest. It belted out as it fell to the ground, Ralof and Camille cheered as the animal hit the ground, Ralof's arrow was sticking out from its side.

"Come on!" Camille said as she stood up and ran over to the deer, Ralof was right behind her as they reached the animal. It lay dead on the ground and the two nords were beaming as they set to work dressing the animal.

"Well, we made a good catch here" Ralof said as he made a cut with his knife "we will have enough to sell in town even"

"Yeah, plus the pelt should be worth something as well" Camille said happily as she started on the deer. They worked in silence for a bit before Camille spoke again her tone serious "why do you trust that red haired bitch?" she asked as she sliced away some meat from the carcass.

"Well" Ralof said a bit taken aback by the question "she helped us escape, from what I have seen she is a good woman"

"She's a damned elf Ralof" Camille said as she made an aggressive cut "we can't trust elves"

"She's only half elf" Ralof said "plus you know that not elves are thalmor"

"Right and I guess dragons are just stories" Camille said angrily as she whipped her knife clean "she is a spy, I just know it"

"Camille she isn't a spy just because she's got elf blood" Ralof said as he grabbed the deer meat. They had used the skin to make a bag to carry it back in "she's got our blood, nord blood, in her veins as well. Besides we will reach Riverwood tomorrow and then she will go her own way and we can head back to wind helm" he slung the back over his shoulder "now let's get the fire wood and head back"

Camille just growled at Ralof before snapping her reply "you only trust her because you want to bed the damn mer, you're a sick man who calls himself nord" Ralof stopped and looked at her, he was angry that was for sure.

"You dare" he said hatefully "I have sacrificed more for this land then you ever have, and you dare question my honor?" he said as he started back for camp "Now let's head back to camp and just forget about this so we can make it back to our comrades without being killed by legionaries alright?"

"To oblivion with you all" she said before throwing the bag of firewood at Ralof "you can stay with the spy I'm leaving now. I'll meet you in the town but the elf bitch stays away from us" and with that she was gone, walking off into the woods. Ralof just grumbled under his breath before he picked the fire wood up and started back towards the camp. He made it to the cove without much incident and set the bag of firewood down and the pelt full of deer meat. He took some wood and started to build a fire, he pulled a tinder box out but Onmund spoke up.

"Hey don't worry" Onmund said as she conjured a fire spell into hand and put held it to the tinder around the base of the fire. The flames jumped from his hand and onto the wood, the fire caught and built itself up till it was burning good and the flames were warm. Ralof laughed as he grabbed a stick and skewered some deer meat with it and set about setting up a spit over the fire to cook the meat with.

"I'm glad we got a mage" he said as he put some sticks in the ground and set the meat just above the fire to cook "otherwise that fire might have taken longer to get going"

"Just trying to help" Onmund said "you did save my life back there, so thank you"

"You needed help" Von said as he grabbed a water skin and took a drink "besides you're a nord"

"Yeah, I wouldn't have wanted to leave you there to die in a cage" Ralof said "no matter your race that would have been and awful way to die"

"Yeah, I was stupid" Onmund said angrily, his black hair was short but still long enough for it to get in his bangs. He wasn't very big for a nord, more lean and lilt than Ralof or von who was both what one would imagine when you said "nord". Ralof was tall, easily standing over six feet, and he was solid muscle from his days before being a legion soldier then a storm cloak. He had shoulder length blonde hair and blue eyes, he had a strong jaw and scars covered his arms from working numerous days of logging as teen. Von was shorter than Ralof but was stocky, his shoulders border than the blonde nords. He had short black hair and a small thick beard adorned his face, his face was thinner than his kinsmen. His eyes were a dark green and his left eye had a deep scar over it.

"What you do Onmund?" Ralof said "steal a horse"

"No, I was lost and went to a legion patrol I saw for help to find my way" he pulled an amulet out, it was an amulet of Talos "they saw this and arrested my for it, thought I was a spy trying to get into the patrol so they threw me in a cell and tortured me for information I didn't have"

"That is stupid, you should be able to wear that proudly" Ralof said angrily "He's one of the nine gods, our god and without him there wouldn't be an empire"

"You should join us, we could use some more mages" Von said patting Onmund's shoulder.

"I'm not much of a mage right now; just starting to learn" he said "I was on my way to the collage when I was taken. I love skyrim but if I was to be any use I need to learn more first" he said as he leaned back some and his hand dropped to his side and landed on Dantea's sword. "Where's Camille?"

"She went on, she thought Dantea was a spy and I told her to deal with her attitude till tomorrow" Ralof said angrily "then she insulted me and left. She said she will meet us in town tomorrow but won't travel with us if Dantea is still with us"

"Do either of you know her? Her and Camille not get along or something?" Onmund asked questing.

"No, we didn't know her till today" von said "you know her at all Ralof?"

"Not really, I know she was coming to skyrim for some reason but wouldn't say. She's half elf and half nord" Ralof said taking a drink "and she can use magic, plus she's damn good with a sword"

"I'm curious about her tattoos, something about them seems strange" Onmund said as he picked her sword up and looked it over.

"She's not bad on the eyes" Von said "We know that much" he said chuckling as he pointed at Onmund. The younger nord blushed a bit and Ralof laughed.

"How so?" he asked smiling "she strip to nothing and strut around giving you two a show?"

"Well, kind of" Onmund said laughing.

"Yeah, she went fishing" Von said "Took everything off but her underclothes and dove in"

"Well, I bet that was nice to see but that tells me one thing" Ralof said

"What that she is a wench in need of bedding?" Von asked rising an eyebrow.

"no, she's smart" he said as he checked the meat "that waters cold, so she didn't want to soak her clothes then be dripping wet. Plus gave her a chance to get clean"

"True" Von said "staying dry can mean the difference between life and death out here"

As Ralof and Camille went off into the woods to hunt for food and firewood Dantea headed back inside the cove; she looked at the two men inside the cove. Onmund had moved his hand away from his gut, there were nasty bruises and she could tell he had a few broken ribs. The half elf sighed as she sat down next to him; Von was busy putting a mixture from one of the bottles on the bruises. Dantea dropped her travelers coat and started to undo the laces to her boots; once she got them undone she pulled them off and set them beside her.

"I'm going to see about catching some fish" she said as she un buckled her sword and placed it next to Von who looked up at her "watch this for me" she said as she climbed out of the cove.

"no problem, try catch some salmon if they are there" von said as he held out a potion for Onmund to drink "the oil from the fishes liver can help him heal faster" Dantea nodded and undid her vest and skirt, she pulled them off and folded them up. She put them under the coves over hang; she looked back at the two men. She still had her underclothes on so she raised her eyebrows at them. Her tattoos seemed to glow a bit in the dying light, she crossed her arms.

"What?" she asked them incredulously "never seen a woman in her underwear before?"

"Well, it's just um" he said scratching his head "proper for a lady, plus isn't it cold?" he said as he nervously chuckled.

"Good thing I'm not a lady" she said laughing "besides, I don't want to get my clothes wet and I'm half nord cold real doesn't bother me all that much" with that she turned and walked over to the water's edge. She had her knife on her leg, she picked up a stick. It was a few feet long and relatively straight so it would work for her purposes. She drew her knife and put it at one end, the long strands of extra leather that was wrapped around the handle came in useful for things like this. She had learned to always wrap knife handles so that there were a few feet of extra cord off the hilt to use to lash it on a stick to make a quick spear. It was trick she had learned from her adoptive father and it served her well, she smiled at the thought as she lashed the knife on the stick and tested to see how well it was holding on the stick. It stuck firm and she was satisfied with it, she put a hand in the water and tested to see how warm it was. Being skyrim the river was sitting around fifty to sixty degrees; she sighed and stood up with her makeshift spear in hand. She quickly cast a water breathing spell on herself and dove into the water. It was cold and hit her hard but her nord made the cold feel welcome almost as she slipped under the water and breathed in through her nose, the magic working its purpose as water entered her nose it became oxygen and so she dove deeper in the river. It was the clearest water she had ever been in, the crisp clear water that came from the melted snows and glaciers of skyrim made the cleanest and clearest rivers.

Dantea set about her task and swam down under the water; she rolled around and looked up. She sat at the bottom of the water; she waited as some fish passed overhead. She lunged with the spear and caught one at the end of it; she pulled her spear in and looked the fish over. It was a salmon; she smiled and looked back up at the school of fish. She slide the first fish on to a string hanging from her waist and struck again, she got another fish and then another. She swam back for the surface and gathered her bearings. She had been out for a while now and it was now fully dark now but she could see a thin column of smoke around the bend so she headed back that way. She came to the edge of the river and could see their little outcome, Ralof was back and Dantea could hear and smell the cooking of meat over the fire. She climbed out onto to shore and made her way back over to the cove. Ralof sat with his back to her as he cooked the meat on a stick; he hadn't heard her walk up. She undid the string of fish from her belt and tossed them down next to the nord. He jumped and looked at the fish then up at Dantea. He was shocked to see her in not but underclothes but got over it fast.

"I see you got the fish" he said as she grabbed her cloak and started to dry off, she shivered a bit as the wind blew.

"Yeah, a few" she said shivering a bit. She tossed the cloak down and pulled the rest of her clothes back on and sat down next to the fire. She hugged herself and started to warm up, Ralof pulled a fur cloak off his shoulders and put it over hers. She smiled up at him "thanks" she said warmly as she grabbed a fish and started to skin it.

"Any particular reason why you were just in your underclothes?" Ralof asked as he took the liver of the fish and passed it to Von.

"I have one set of clothes" she said as she started on another one "when you work the caravans you learn the different tricks to surviving in the different regions. In skyrim wet clothes are just as bad as wet skin" she cut another fish and pulled its guts free from the rest of it "so you have to keep as dry as possible" she took a piece of cook meat that was offered her by Von "besides it's not like you men were complaining none"

"You could have just fished from the bank" Onmund said as he leaned forward.

"Yeah, but I like to swim and the best fish are further out in the river so I went for the best catch and got to go for a swim"

"I have just as much appreciation for a woman's body as any man" Ralof said chuckling as he took the last fish and started it to cook as well "Camille left" he said flatly.

"I had a feeling she might" Dantea said as she ate her deer "she didn't seem to like me"

"Don't worry about her" Von said as he took a sip from his water skin "she is a capable person, she will be fine. She doesn't have much like for well" he said motioning to her.

"What?" Dantea asked innocently "she didn't like me because my ears are pointy and I'm good with magic?"

"Well, yeah nords and elves don't have the best history" Ralof said.

"Apparently" Dantea said as she took a large bite of her deer meat angrily ripping it away.

"Look, not all nords hate elves" Onmund said from where he lay on the ground "I have a cousin by marriage that's a dark elf. She's a very nice woman and a truer nord than some"

"Oh really how so?" Von asked his tone betrayed his offense to what Onmund said.

"She has been born and raised in skyrim, lived here her entire life" Onmund said defensively "she follows nord traditions because she was raised to be that way"

"Suppose that's fair" Von said "thought you were directing that at me" he said chuckling as he passed the mage a potion "here, drink some more it will help with the internal injuries"

Dantea just sat there listening and eating as the men talked about the war, she didn't have much a saw in it. She was half nord but she didn't have a reason to call skyrim home, she had just come to see if she had one. The half elf grabbed her cloak and went to the back of the cove; she spread it out and sat down on it. She grabbed her sword and placed it on her lap, she pulled it free and took a ragout from a pouch on the belt of her skirt and she started to clean the blood of the blade.

"What about you Dantea?" she heard Ralof ask her.

"What about what?" she asked the nord as she whipped the down her sword.

"Where you from?" he asked happily "I'm from Riverwood which is up the road a few hours walk"

"I'm from solitude" Von said as he headed back on his hands.

"I lived in white run, the hold not the city" the mage said laying back "small farm all by itself, it was a nice place"

"I'm from nowhere" Dantea said as she sheathed the sword and put it down next to her.

"Come on, where's home?" Von said pushing the issue lightly.

"I grew up from about seven in a caravan" she said flatly "before that I don't know anything so don't ask me" she said taking a drink of water.

"You get your tattoos there?" Onmund asked her trying to be polite.

"No, now if you would excuse me I'm going to sleep" Dantea said as she lay down and rolled away from them. She pulled her amulet of her neck and looked it over; it was a simple moon amulet she always wore. _Did I make a mistake in coming here Kharjo? _She wondered to herself.


	3. Chapter 3

Dantea awoke from her slumber under the overhanging along the cold, skyrim road. She sat up off her bed roll; she brushed her hair out of her face as she looked around her surroundings. Ralof was lying nearby on his bed roll; he was facing towards the fire his long blonde hair obscuring his face. She grabbed her sword off the ground and slung it over her shoulder buckling the cross strap over her chest. She looked at her other traveling companions; Onmund lay nearby against the wall with his arm draped across his stomach holding his wound while he slept. Van was busy cooking at the fire, their breakfast smelled well and the scent of warm stew filled the cove that the group had camped out for the night. Van looked at her his short black hair ruffled a bit in the cool morning breeze; he gave her a nod in greeting as she stepped out from the cove and took a deep breath of the cool skyrim air. She looked around the area, the sun was peeking out from behind the mountains, and the ground shinned as the frost that had formed in the night melted in the new morning sun. She walked across the road and over to the river, she knelt down next to it and splashed water in her face she felt refreshed as the cold water hit her and she sighed as she stood up on the river bank, a slight breeze blew her long red hair around her shoulders. She walked back over to the little camp, she ducked back under the roof of the out cove and sat down by the fire, and Van looked over at her as she pulled a pouch from her belt and drew her sword. She started to work on maintaining it, she ran the whetstone over the blade refining the edge and making the blade shin in the fire light.

"that is quite the blade" Van said as he filled a bowl of stew for the half elf, he held it out to her and she grabbed it and placed it next to her as she looked the right edge of her sword over before setting it down in her lap. She picked the stew up and took a spoonful; she gave the nord a quick smile.

"It's good, thank you" Dantea said as she ate some more of the stew, Van cracked a quick smile before speaking again.

"Where did you get it?" he asked his eyes on the sword. Dantea sighed as she set the bowl down, it was empty she picked the blade up and set about working on it again with all the care of a loving mother.

"I was found with it" she said her face obscured by her hair as she hunched over her blade "that was thirteen years ago" the sound of someone groaning drew the twos attention as Ralof sat up and looked at his companions; he stretched his arms out and cracked his neck.

"Good morning" Ralof said as he rolled the aches in his shoulders out "breakfast smells good" he said as he grabbed a bowl and started to fill it up with stew.

"So what do you mean you were found with it?" Van asked as he filled a bowl for Onmund for when he awoke, the young mage was sleeping deeply which was good to let the healing potions do their work more and he might be able to limp to Riverwood.

"Just that I was found with it, in skyrim in fact somewhere in the reach" she said as she put her sword care kit away "I was seven at the time and when my eyes opened that day is my first coherent full memory" she sheathed the sword. Onmund began to stir and he sat up slowly, Dantea passed him his soup bowl. The mage was groggy from just waking from what was surly a deep sleep. He took the bowl; he murmured his thanks as he took and started to eat.

"So who found you?" Ralof asked as he finished his stew and set the bowl down. The half elf sighed as rummaged in her pocket finding a leather strip.

"My adoptive father did, alright" she said aggressively as she wrapped her hair into a ponytail, she looked directly at Ralof. The nord looked her in the eye, her eyes told her him to drop it and he nodded. Van didn't see the gesture and spoke up, his tone was meant to be a compliment to her father but it didn't come out quite as planned.

"He must have been a good nord man to raise strong women such as you" he said with a smile. Dantea gave him a scowl before grabbing her sword and stepping out from the cove. Ralof looked at van who just shrugged; the blonde nord gave a sigh before addressing the three men.

"Come on lets, get going" Ralof said with a sigh. Dantea sat down on a log on the side of the river bank; she pulled out her moon amulet and sighed as she held it in her hand. She squeezed it tight looking at the sky. The half elf sat there thinking and time seemed to speed by as she pondered her choice to seek out her lost memories. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she jumped, whipping around to see Ralof standing with his hands up a look of surprise on his face.

"We are ready to go, just waiting on you" he said smiling trying to calm her down. Dantea relaxed and looked off to the side at the ground before grabbing her sword from where it was leaning against the log and she slung it over her shoulder.

"Let's go then" she said flatly looking at Ralof. The two walked over to Van and Onmund, the mage was leaning on a stick for support he looked better and managed a smile. The four started down the road, the silence between them was awkward as they walked further on their journey, and Dantea stayed in the back with Onmund while van and Ralof walked ahead, the blonde nord leading them to where he grew up. Onmund limped along next to the half elf girl, he tried to speak a few times but he stopped himself when he looked at her. Finally he mustered the courage to speak his mind and with a bit of stumbled he asked "so where were you headed before, well" he said chuckling

"The world went crazy?" Dantea asked glancing at him, her blue eyes questioning the mage "same place as you actually, to the collage" she said wearily "why?"

"Just curious is all, trying to make conversation" he said wincing as a blade of pain shoot through his body "takes my mind of the pain"

"Oh" Dantea said her tone apologetic "yeah I was headed to the collage but well, you see how that turned out"

"Trying to study magic?" Onmund asked her as he limped along the noise of his make shift crutch a steady clunk on the road. Dantea chuckled looking over at Onmund; she gave him a small smile.

"No, I was actually going to see if someone could tell me about my tattoos" she said as she watched the road ahead "I don't know where I got them or what they are"

"Some you got them before you were found then" Onmund said with a matter of fact tone "they seem to glow a bit; they are nice looking though" he said trying to be polite.

"Well, yeah and thanks" Dantea said as Ralof shouted back to them.

"Hey we are close now, just around the bend and we will be back to civilization" he said happily. Van grunted his replay and Onmund sighed "oh thanks the nine" he said. Dantea kept quite as they rounded the bend in the village of Riverwood came into view, the arch over the road had a guard standing his post under the canopy made of the thatch, and the arch was wood and worn stone. The village people were busy attending to their daily lives, Dantea could hear the sound of a smith working at the anvil, a lumber mills saw, and even a few children attending to farm animals. The four walked under the arch into the small town, some of the town's people recognized Ralof and gave him a wave in greeting. Dantea heard an old woman yelling about something, her old voice shrill and creaky.

"A dragon, I saw a dragon!" she yelled but a younger man nearby just yelled back at her. Dantea looked at him, he was shaking his head and she could see in his was sympathy for the old women who was losing her mind in her old age.

"Grandma, shut up there was no dragon" he sighed with exasperation and embarrassment. The two then proceeded to get into an argument about whether or not there was in fact a dragon. Dantea chuckled because she knew for a fact that there was indeed a dragon. Ralof looked around the small village; he breathed deep and seemed happy for the moment as he examined his home. He turned to face the group, a smile on his face and his eyes bright.

"Ah, it's good to be home" he said happily "Van, take Onmund to the inn. Delphine should be able to help him out, she knows a good deal about medicine"

"Alright, mage come on let's get you some help" Van said as he waved for Onmund to follow. The black haired nord just sighed as he grabbed the mage around the shoulder and the two stepped off towards the sleeping giant inn. Ralof watched them go down the street before looking back at his companion, the half elf was standing there with her arms crossed as she watched a group of kids playing some sort of game, and they were swinging sticks at each other and screaming things about legion and stromcloaks.

"Bring back memories?" Ralof said as he watched the kids play. Dantea looked at him rolling her eyes "come on let's find my sister, Gerdur" the blonde nord said. The two walked over to the mill, the sound of the mills blades at work made talking impossible, Dantea saw a large nord up on the deck throwing logs onto the track and slicing them. They came walked over to a pile of small wooden logs, there was a splitting stump where a muscular blonde nord woman was hard at work. She would grab a log and split it and as soon as it fell to her axe there was another one on the stump and with a chop it to be halved. She dropped the axe and pulled the leather gloves from her hands and whipped them on her green dress, she turned to face Ralof who smiled.

"Hello sister" he said.

"Ralof!" she said as she pulled him into a hug "we thought you were dead!" Gerdur let Ralof go and the nord chuckled.

"Close, but it seems Talos is on our side as well as a bit of luck" he said happily, it was then that Gerdur noticed Dantea standing there.

"Who is your friend Ralof?" she asked him raising an eyebrow suspiciously.

"My names Dantea"

"She helped me and some comrades escape Helghan after…" he sighed "after the dragon attacked"

"You get hit on the head or something?" Gerdur asked crossing her arms "there are no dragons Ralof, they are just legends"

"Well, a legend just burnt down a village and slaughtered its people like sheep" Dantea said flatly. Gerdur looked at them both, her face was confused. She scowled as she looked at their eyes before she sighed "you aren't joking"

"I am afraid not Gerdur" Ralof said sadly "the dragons are all too real and they have come to skyrim"

"come let's talk somewhere more private" Gerdur said as she lead them over to a small grove of trees at the end of the small spilt of land the mill sat on, Ralof took a seat on a fallen tree while Dantea sat on the ground. Gerdur was standing still, her arms crossed and her face in thought.

"Someone has to tell the Jarl, we need more guards and if one Jarl knows then all of skyrim soon will" Gerdur said looking at Ralof "you can't go; you won't be safe in white run being a known stromcloaks"

"I'll go" Dantea said quietly.

"What was that elf?" Gerdur asked her.

"I said I would go" Dantea said with a slight chip on her shoulder as she stood up "I'll tell the jarl your town needs help, white run is on my way to winter hold"

"Ralof?" Gerdur asked looking at her brother for advice. The blonde nord looked back at her and nodded.

"Aye, we can trust her" he said "she saved my skin in Helghan and has been nothing but helpful since then"

"Thank you Dantea" Gerdur said "I'm sorry for being short with you"

"Don't worry about it I'm used to the comments by now" she said flatly "besides a dragon swooping from the sky would have anyone on edge"

"Well with that settled let's see about getting you guys a place to stay for the day" Gerdur said as she took the leather gloves off and put them down next to the stump with the axe stuck in it. Gerdur lead the two back across the bridge and once more into the town. Ralof seemed to be in a great mood which Dantea could understand as he was in his home town and seeing his family after who knows how long. The nord woman opened the door of her house and motioned for the two to step inside. Dantea walked in to the small home and looked around. It was warm and comfortable, a hearty fire burned in the hearth and the smell of fresh food wafted through the stone building. It was not spacious but it also had enough room to be homey.

"Well I know it's not much but its home" Gerdur said as she shut the door behind them. Ralof sat down in one of the chairs and relaxed, Dantea however was still looking around the home.

"I know it's not much"

"It's a great home Gerdur"

"Thanks Dantea" Gerdur replied as she walked over to the fire and checked on the stew that was in the pot "we do our best to keep it nice"

Dantea smiled as she sat down at the table making sure to not hit her sword on the wood. She reached up and pulled the tie out of her hair and let the long red locks fall down around her face. Ralof was watching from the corner of the room, something about her was intriguing and she was beautiful.

He snapped out of his day dream quickly, he was a solider there would be time for all of that later and with a good strong nord woman like his mother and father had always wanted for him.

"So Dantea, where are you from?" Gerdur asked as she stirred the soup as it bubbled and added to the wonderful smell of the house.

"Nowhere" the half elf said looking up her eyes questioning she woman.

"Nowhere?" Gerdur asked "come now, where did you grow up"

"Everywhere" Dantea said flatly "I never had a place to return home to"

"Oh I am sorry"

"Don't worry about it, just part of caravan life" Dantea put her head in her hands.

"You grew up with the Khajiit?" Gerdur asked perplexed and a bit put off.

"Yes, why afraid I'm going to steal everything?" Dantea snapped, the red haired woman stood up "I will found somewhere else to stay"

"No that's not…" Gerdur started but Dantea cut her off.

"It's nothing new, the half-blood raised by the cats, gods only know how much of a wreak she is" Dantea's voiced was raised as she spoke "I have heard it all my life some its nothing new" and with that she wrenched the door open and stormed out.

Ralof looked at his sister; both nords were confused as to what just happened. Ralof sighed and leaned back in his chair, he didn't understand why she got upset about things like that, and she wasn't a khajiit so why would it bother her?

Dantea walked down the small path from the house and into the town, she took a few deep breaths and managed to calm herself down. She walked over to the edge of the general store and sat down on the porch. She pulled her leather bag of her back and checked what all she had. Food, water and nothing really else she would need but she could always see about selling it to get some gold for some gear that she could use on the road. She closed the flap of the bag and sighed as she leaned back on her hands, the town was nice but she knew that like everywhere else that she would be rejected.

Across the street the smith waved at her as he took a break from his work, Dantea waved back politely. The man sat down on his workbench and leaned back against the wall, she watched him for a second as he fell asleep. _Well, looks like he's out_ she thought to herself as she stood up and walked over to the door. Inside were two imperials that were in a heated argument about something that Dantea could care less for.

"I'm done with this now Camilla, there is a customer" the man said. The woman just huffed and stormed out the door past Dantea. The red-haired elf paid her no attention as she went over to the counter, she placed her bag on the counter and emptied out the extra supplies she had.

"How much for all this?" She asked him flatly.

"Well, there are some good potions here along with some good daggers" he pondered for a second "I'll give you 100 gold for it"

"Aright, do you have any tents?"

"No, sorry sold the last one to a trailer headed to Riften" He looked over her sword "I'll give you 600 more gold for the sword if the blade is as good as the handle looks"

Dantea took her gold off the counter and put it in her small waist bag; she slung her pack over her back and made her way for the door.

"The sword isn't for sale" she snapped as she wrenched the door open and stormed out. She wasn't paying attention and nearly ran into the woman from the store she was sitting by the steps. Dantea tripped over her and landed on her side with a solid thud.

"Ouch" she moaned as she pushed herself up and looked at the imperial woman behind her.

"I'm sorry" Camilla apologized "I shouldn't have been sitting there"

"It's my fault, I wasn't paying attention" Dantea replied hoarsely as she brushed herself off "how far is it to white run from here?"

"About a day's journey or so, I would wait till tomorrow to leave but that's just me" Camilla shrugged.

"Thanks" and with that Dantea started down the road and out of Riverwood. She came to the bridge over the small river on the outskirts of town and looked out across the horizon, her elven eyes gave her great eye sight and she could see a storm coming on the edge of her sight. She felt the breeze whip up a bit across the river and it rustled the leaves around her feet. She grabbed the hood of her cloak and pulled it over her head.

She walked along the road, enjoying the beautiful landscape; the breeze chilled her exposed skin a little but not enough to be uncomfortable. The tall green trees were blowing gently in the wind and the rustling of leaves was soothing. Dantea walked alone along the road lost in her own thoughts, in her own mind. The half elf was unaware of the danger that was around her, the bandits that were in the woods were busy licking their chops as they watched the lone woman walking along the road. Dantea was still in her own thoughts when the sound of a snapping twig drew her back into the world. She picked her eyes up slowly, making sure to keep moving as to get the surprise on her enemies.

"Come on, it's one girl" a Red Guard bandit said "let's take her"

"Easy, wait till we can surrounded her" the leader of the bandit gang said, his large green arm blocking the Red Guard from rushing down. The dark skinned man just glared at the orc. The chief held up a hand and waved it signaling the other six bandits to attack. The archer of the group took aim and let lose his arrow smiling as he knew that it would find its mark.

His joy was short lived as Dantea moved faster than most would think is possible, the arrow flew over her head as she dropped down on a knee kicking her left leg out in the direction of the archer. A wave of force magic rushed forward and sent the archer slamming into a tree, the others wasted no time and charged in.

Dantea drew her sword, the steel blade flashed in the dying skyrim sun. The first bandit came at her from the back swinging his battle axe over his head, a look of blood lust in his Nordic eyes. Dantea slid backwards grasping the handle of the sword tight at her waist and driving the blade back and into the man's chest. The next man slashed at her from the right with a standard one hand sword, Dantea pulled her blade free of the other man's chest and keeping the reverse grip blocked the strike. She quickly spun away from her second attacker rotating the blade in her hand to bring it to a regular grip. A large Red Guard man charged her with his shield down hoping to knock her back. She dropped low again in a spilt second window the edge of the shield passing over her head. The blade of her sword swung as she dropped sliding under the wood and iron shield and up into the man's gut. She pulled her blade through and faced the remaining six bandits.

The first to move was a khajiit coming at her with two short swords; he came at her more like a wild animal than any swordsman worth his merit. His first strike Dantea rose to block with her own sword, the metal clashed and the attacker swung his other blade more like a hatch than a sword at her side. She stepped in to the khajiit closing the distance till they are against each other and his striking arm wrapped around her side and the blade missed her. Her arm quickly shot out and grabbed the bandits other sword arm making sure to go outside her blade arm and hit it skyward. Her blade slide down through the khajiit color bone and neck till it came to the bottom of his ribcage, the entire move took only a few seconds to complete. The other five rushed her hoping that numbers alone would over whelm her.

The leader, a large orc, charged her with a shield staying low to prevent her from dropping under it. She ran at him and jumped up, the orc raised his shield and Dantea smiled evilly as her feet connected with the wood. Her force magic infused drop kick sent the orc flying back as she flipped backwards landing on the ground in front of a nord. The large black haired man swung a war axe sideways for her neck and fast as lightning she dropped under the sloppy strike. Her free hand came rocketing up with a fireball that slammed into his face. As this happened a bandit swung his sword at the half elf and she whipped her blade out to meet his.

"You aren't the only mage here!" Dantea heard yelled out behind her and she spun around the man she just blocked and kicked him in the way of the bandit mages fireball spell. Dantea faced him and charged he sent a fire ball flying at her that just bounced off her quickly raised ward. The mage back peddled but to use, Dantea was on him and with one swift swing her blade passed through the man's neck, a curtain of red followed it. The half elf whipped around and saw the remaining bandits; two of them were looking at her horrified while their orc leader was pushing him up off the ground.

"Get the damn elf!" the orc bellowed as he dropped his shield and grabbed another sword. The three bandits charged her but she was ready, she quickly used a pull spell that pulled the three to a center point in the road knocking them all into each other. She reached out with her telekinesis spell grabbing a sword from a dead bandits hand, she blasted it foreword and the blade was barley knocked off course in time by the orc. It gave her the time she needed to gain the advantage and close the distance between them. The first bandit she came to raised his battle-axe handle to block her strike and her sword bit right into it but he made a fatal mistake and kept the handle to close. Dantea's arms locked out with a snap and her sword hit the man in the throat causing blood to spurt out as he dropped. The next bandit came at her with a center stab, Dantea quickly moved to the side spun on her heel with all the speed of the wind and her sword passed through the man's torso like a knife through butter.

The remaining bandit, the orc glared at her with hate and malice in his eyes. She readied her sword, both hand grasping it tight and her stance strong.

"Your fast" The orc growled "I don't know how you did what you did, but your life belongs to me"

"Then take it, if you can" Dantea said as she glared the orc down. The two began to circle each other; the orc rolled the two swords in his hand sizing her up. His opponent was skilled at moving her blade, she was fast and agile but he could over power her. The orc snorted and raised his swords and charged at her, his swords a flurry of movement trying to throw Dantea off, he came at her sliding his swords in a scissor strike. Dantea jumped back and brought her sword up to me his high cross body strike. He came at her with the other blade sliding it across his torso to prevent her from closing in.

Dantea responded by dragging her blade down to the cross guard of the blocked blade while she moved away to the orcs side and with a flick of her wrist she slide the blade through the orcs bicep and opened him up as he roared in pain. She delivered a solid front kick to his chest knocking him back but he was ready. As soon as she landed he shoot his sword out in a thrust, she was quick enough to move and the blade only knocked her upper arm but it stung. Dantea's sword rushed in a horizontal slash across the orcs gut that he went to block with his second sword. He had forgot for a brief moment that he was fighting a mage and he was hit in the chest by a bolt of lightning he jumped back and reset himself.

Dantea slide back her stance still strong and her sword up, magic cackled in her free hand. The orc grunted and rushed again, Dantea saw an opening and took it. Quickly she used a triangle step to dodge the orcs charge while bring her blade up between the small opening in his defense, the gap between the blades set to slash in a scissor motion. Her sword dug an inch into his gut and she wrenched it twisting her hips as hard as she could, the blade slide deeper and through the orcs stomach. The blood soaked tip whipped out of the flesh and pointed towards the woods, a river of airborne blood soared behind it. Dantea took a deep breath as the orc fell to his knees; his guts were spilling out of the massive slash that bisected his lower abdomen. Dantea walked around behind him and rolled her sword into a reverse grip; she grabbed it with both hands and drove the blade home at the base of the orcs neck. The steel sunk deep along his spine causing him to cry out in pain as he died on his knees.

Dantea wrenched the blade up and out, its fuller was full of blood and the red liquid of life dripped off the end of her blade. The half elf looked around at the dead bandits, bodies covered the road and she knew that the beasts of the wild would come to claim their feast. She walked over to one of the dead bandits and tore a sizable piece of cloth from his cloak and whipped her blade clean till it was a shining mirror of deadly steal. She reached up and slides it into its sheath, the last bit of the blade catching the moon light as it crashed home.

She quickly searched the bodies and found some gold, items she could sell but a note caught her eye. The orc leader had it in his pocket, she pulled it out and flipped the paper open and began to read.

_You are to find the one named Dantea; she was last seen being taken to the headsman at Helghan but escape. She will most likely be headed through Riverwood to white run. Kill her_

_-E_

_P.S. Bring me her head and her sword_

Dantea growled as she looked at the seal on the note. IT was easy to recognize an eagle with its wings spread and up above its head. She hissed the name of those who had been hunting her for the past two years for reason's she didn't know, those who had forced her to betray the legion or die, those who she would destroy, the thalmor.


End file.
